Only Fitting de Blasio Could Be Taken Down By Trash Bags

Garbage bags could help bring down the Blasio administration. Of many revelations about City Hall’s pay-to-play culture, the case of how New York came to buy a certain brand of trash bags caught the prosecutors' attention.
Read more at the New York Post Read More......

Revealed: the $2bn offshore trail that leads to Vladimir Putin

A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy. Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern...
Read more at the UK Guardian Read More......

Latin America – Seven Ugly Sisters In Deep Political Trouble

The seven ‘ugly Latino sisters’, namely Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina are all deep political trouble from collapsed benchmark prices.
Read more at Zero Hedge Read More......

Time for Senate Geezers to Go

If the United States has any chance of changing the disastrous course on which it is currently embarked, then significant electoral reforms are needed. As things stand, too few politicians wield too much power for far too long.


J.R.R. Tolkien’s Ring of Power is perhaps the best metaphor for actual power found in literature: The more the bearer wears the ring, the more “addicted” to its powers and pleasures he becomes, and the more enthralled to the Dark Lord.


Read more at PoliZette Read More......

This is why media coverage of climate debate has been corrupted

News journalists are being bribed by the United Nations and the Oxfam charity to write scare stories about climate change ahead of the global climate treaty negotiations in Paris later this year. Details of the bribes – which take the form of ego-boosting “awards”, global travel in CO2 generating airliners and financial payments – are contained in a news release just published by the UNDP today, an organisation headed by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. Journalists’ codes of ethics prohibit being induced to give favourable coverage, but those rules have increasingly been ignored in recent years by the use of backdoor mechanisms like funding journalism “awards” as a means of generating content and rewarding propaganda-writers. Read more at Watts Up With That? Read More......

EXCLUSIVE — TED CRUZ: OBAMATRADE ENMESHED IN CORRUPT, BACKROOM DEALINGS

As a general matter, I agree (as did Ronald Reagan) that free trade is good for America; when we open up foreign markets, it helps American farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers. But TPA in this Congress has become enmeshed in corrupt Washington backroom deal-making, along with serious concerns that it would open up the potential for sweeping changes in our laws that trade agreements typically do not include. Since the Senate first voted on TPA, there have been two material changes. First, WikiLeaks subsequently revealed new troubling information regarding the Trade in Services Agreement, or TiSA, one of the trade deals being negotiated by Obama. Despite the administration’s public assurances that it was not negotiating on immigration, several chapters of the TiSA draft posted online explicitly contained potential changes in federal immigration law.


Read more at Breitbart.com Read More......

Kitzhaber legacy: Chicago on the Willamette

The aftermath of former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber’s resignation in February was surprisingly quiet, and it has been business as usual at the state capitol in Salem ever since. It was almost as if that whole bizarre series of events had never transpired in the first place.


For his part, Kitzhaber had largely dropped out of the public eye, and understandably so. Kitzhaber sightings have become increasingly rare, though he was spotted at a Starbucks in Northwest Portland in early May and had his picture snapped. Aside from the photographer, all indications are that nobody else even recognized him.


Read more at the Oregon Catalyst Read More......

Oligarchs for Hillary!

For me, the issue this US election season is the corruption. Sure, I'd like a balanced budget and less debt and repeal of Obamacare, but I'm getting used to being sold out on those issues. So I'm down to the bare minimum requirement for a politician: The corruption nauseates me, and, if it doesn't nauseate the candidates, then that explains a lot about why nothing happens on any of those other matters. It's in the air, it's in my nostrils, and I'm sick of choking on it. We have a "justice" department that prosecutes a senator who made the mistake of crossing the President (Menendez) but declines to do anything about a tax collector who treats American taxpayers differently on the basis of how they vote (Lerner). We have a revenue agency that regards itself as the paramilitary wing of the ruling party.


Read more at Mark Steyn On-line Read More......

Networks Silent about ‘Green’ Nature of Kitzhaber Corruption Scandal

It’s the job of a reporter to answer all the basic questions in a news story. Telling the who, what, when, where, why is foundational.

Yet, the broadcast network news media omitted key details from reports on the ethics scandal that led to Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber’s resignation. ABC, NBC and CBS admitted Kitzhaber and his live-in fiancée, Cylvia Hayes, are both under federal investigation because of “allegations” she “used their relationship to benefit her energy consulting business.”

Cylvia Hayes has a very specific kind of energy consultancy: a green one. But the only mention of “green,” in any of the network reports was Hayes’ admission she once took money from a man who wanted a green card marriage. By ignoring what Hayes does for a living the networks shielded the green movement they have so often promoted in broadcasts.

 

Read more at NewsBusters

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Environmental Researcher: Wind Industry Riddled with 'Absolute Corruption'

A Mexican ecologist has blown the whistle on the corruption, lies and incompetence of the wind industry - and on the massive environmental damage it causes in the name of saving the planet.  Patricia Mora, a research professor in coastal ecology and fisheries science at the National Institute of Technology in Mexico, has been studying the impact of wind turbines in the Tehuantepec Isthmus in southern Mexico, an environmentally sensitive region which has the highest concentration of wind farms in Latin America.

Read more at Breitbart.com Read More......

Bigger than President Obama

When four out of five citizens think their government is corrupt there is a big problem. When three out of five also think their government is incompetent the problem may be of historic proportions. The very fabric of a free society begins to come apart when so many people deeply distrust their own government. This is the opposite of the “we the people” model the Founding Fathers fought for and established. Newt Gingrich outlines THREE KEY STEPS BACK TOWARD COMPETENCE AND INTEGRITY.

Read more at Gingrich Productions Read More......

What’s a few hundred million dollars between friends?

Different media outlets have pegged the cost to build the cost to build ill-fated Obamacare exchange website at anywhere from $350 to $618 million. According to two tech experts who appeared on Sean Hannity ‘s Fox News program on Wednesday the price should have been more like $5-10 million. Most of the discussion centered on the lack of security on Healthcare.gov, but as Hannity was ending the segment he asked the two experts, David Kennedy, president of database security firm TrustedSec and Luke Chung, president and founder of the software firm FMS “If you would have been hired to build this site, how much could you build it for and how much better could it be?” Kennedy answered; “I would say to build a site like this with the infrastructure, the architecture around it, you are looking at maybe $5 million to $10 million at a very maximum rate.”

Read more at Hot Air Read More......

JPMorgan Shakedown Includes Acorn-Style Kickback

Extortion: Just when we thought its post-crisis probe of banks couldn't get more corrupt, the Obama administration has cut radical Democrat groups in on the record $13 billion JPMorgan Chase subprime loan deal.

On Page 5 of "Annex 2" of the recently released consent order, you'll find this little gem: The Justice Department mandates that JPMorgan fork over any unclaimed or unpaid consumer damages to a nonprofit group that finances Acorn clones and other shakedown groups.

They stand to reap millions. The "consumer relief" portion of the deal by itself totals $4 billion.

Read more at Investor's Business Daily Read More......

School Test Teaches Kids: “Commands Of Government Officials Must Be Obeyed By All”

By Steve Watson - A parent of a ten year old was shocked to discover a grammar and writing test paper that their[sic] child brought home from school reads more like [a] document from an authoritarian country such as China. Read more at InfoWars…

(Hat tip: Tom) Read More......

Feds give millions in contracts to firms owned by fictitious people

A Maryland woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges related to setting up at least 15 false businesses in six states that received government contracts despite often being registered to people who did not exist.

The businesses subcontracted all the work to other companies, then took the federal dollars without paying the companies doing the work.

Larayne Whitehead, 34, of Clinton, Md., agreed to forfeit $2.4 million in illegal proceeds and a silver Audi.

Read more at the Washington Examiner Read More......

Afghanistan: Catch-and-release of Taliban fighters angers troops

WASHINGTON EXAMINER, 12/7/2010 by Sara A. Carter - More than 500 suspected Taliban fighters detained by U.S. forces have been released from custody at the urging of Afghan government officials, angering both American troops and some Afghans who oppose the policy on the grounds that many of those released return to the battlefield to kill NATO soldiers and Afghan civilians. Read more at the Washington Examiner... Read More......

Charlie Rangel holds onto gavel

POLOTICO, 2/2/2010 - Charlie Rangel emerged from a closed-door meeting in Nancy Pelosi’s office Tuesday night to declare that he’s still the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and hasn’t agreed to give up his gavel – even as some media outlets were reporting that he’d done just that. ∴ But asked whether he’d still be the chairman tomorrow and in the coming days, Rangel said: “I can’t make all those promises at my age.” ∴ And when Pelosi was asked whether Rangel was resigning, she said “no comment.” Read more at Politico...

2/3/2010 UPDATE: Rep. Rangle turned over the gavel in a short, emotional press conference, at which he took no questions. Read More......

Pattern of Corruption: Robert Creamer's blueprint

In an earlier post, we linked to Big Government's report on left-wing activist, Bob Creamer and his wife, Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who attended President Obama's White House State Dinner. Creamer is the author of the 2006 book, written while serving a prison term for fraud, Listen to your Mother, Stand Up Straight! How Progressives Can Win. David Axelrod described the book as, "...a blueprint for future progressive victories." On 12/7 and 12/8/2009 Glenn Beck featured 11-steps of Creamer's blueprint on his FNC show. See if this blueprint strikes you as an earnest attempt to improve health care in America or a strategy to take absolute control of health care (or any segment of the U.S. economy using a strategy such as this) to acquire immense immutable power? Blueprint follows:

THE BLUEPRINT (per Beck)
Passages from Creamer's Listen to your Mother, Stand Up Straight! How Progressives Can Win are in "quotes". Rough notes on Beck's commentary or clips are in italics. --bc

1. RIGHT – “We must create a national consensus that health care is a right, not a commodity; and that government must guarantee that right.”
   
   
2. CRISIS – “We must create a national consensus that health care system is in crisis.”
   
   
3. DISCREDIT - “Our messaging program over the next two years should focus on reducing the credibility of the health insurance industry and focusing on the failure of private health insurance.”
   
   
4. DEALS – “We need to systematically forge relationships with large sectors of the business/employer community.”
   
   
5. SCARE POLS – “We need to convince political leaders that they owe their elections, at least in part, to the groundswell of support of universal health care, and that they face political peril if they fail to deliver on universal health care in 2009.”
   
   
6. CONSENSUS – “We need not agree in advance on the components of a plan, but we must foster a process that can ultimately yield consensus.” (Just pass it quickly – it doesn’t matter what’s in it [do legislators know what’s in the 2000+ page bills?], we can tweak it later.)
   
   
7. ORGANIZE – “Over the next two years, we must design and organize a massive national field program.” (Unions, Organizing for America, ACORN, HCAN, AARP, SEIU, etc. / SEIU? has been delivering political beat downs to Wal-Mart and most recently Comcast)
   
   
8. CHURCH/UNIONS – “We must focus especially on the mobilization of the labor movement and the faith community.” (Check church websites – three clicks and you’re on the HCAN website.)
   
   
9. ACORN, ETC. – “We must systematically leverage the connections and resources of a massive array of institutions and organizations of all types.” (Barack Obama on Chicago Public Radio in 2001: “…One of the, I think tragedies of the civil rights movement was because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing… and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributive change.” )
   
   
10. MONEY - “To be successful, we must put in place commitments for hundreds of millions of dollars to be used to finance paid communications and mobilization once the battle is joined.” (Tides Foundation, SEIU spent $60M to elect Obama, HCAN has contributed heavily to promote Obamacare)
    
    
11. CREATE FEAR – “To win we must not just generate understanding, but emotion, fear, revulsion, anger, disgust.” (Obama leveled this at doctors… ripping out tonsils and cutting off feet for money. Calling Tea Party goers angry mobs, etc. Pelosi and Obama administration has stirred up all these tactics while pointing at the right and accusing them of fear tactics.)

Do you recognize these steps? Have they happened? Yah, they have... every stinking one! --bc Read More......

Pattern of Corruption: Bob Creamer, Architect of ObamaCare

BIG GOVERNMENT, 12/2009 by Capitol Confidential - Before left-wing activist Bob Creamer escorted his wife, Illinois Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky to the Obama state dinner, before he penned his blue print for the socialist agenda from his federal prison cell, before he committed felony bank fraud and was indicted on 34 counts involving misuse of $2.4 million, this Saul Alinsky disciple reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars from a campaign finance scam that illegally funneled money from deep-pocket Democrat donors and labor unions to targeted congressional campaigns. Read more at Andrew Breitbart's Big Government...

Capitol Confidential: Anonymous sources in the halls of power at the federal, state, and local levels. Big Government double-checks their stories and provides them the cloak they need to reveal the truth.

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IMPORTANT NOTE: A report on Robert Creamer's 2006 book, Listen to your Mother, Stand Up Straight! How Progressives Can Win, has been moved to Pattern of Corruption: Robert Creamer's blueprint. Read More......

Glenn Beck: Why Goldman Sachs Is The Evil Empire!

7/15/2009 Read More......